All Articles For Lubbers, George C

In our former article we directed the reader’s at­tention to two important factors as these we explicit­ly stated in the verses 1 and 2 of I Peter 1. These two factors were very briefly as follows:

In this passage we are told more about the grand and exalted “status quo” of the Church of Jesus Christ as she lives under the Spirit of sanctification. In our last essay on this Chapter we noticed the church stands and praises God in the face of Jesus Christ, since He has begotten her unto a lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We now stand before the task of inquiring into the meaning of the threefold qualification of this inheri­tance in heaven. Of his inheritance, kept in heaven, Peter tells us, that it is: incorruptible, undefilable and that it fades not away. Concerning each of these elements just a word.

Permit us a few remarks concerning the meaning of these verses as we have thus far considered them. In the first place, we have noticed that we have been born anew unto a living hope, through the re­surrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The power of our hope is the power of God manifested and wrought in His resurrection.

It is a wonderful fact, that salvation is immutably certain for the elect strangers scattered in the midst of this world, both in the days of Peter and in ours. We have only reason to rejoice in God, our Savior. In the death and resurrection of Christ He hath be­gotten us unto a lively hope. And, we may be cer­tain, this hope never puts us to shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through His Holy Spirit. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ.

We interrupt our series of articles on I Peter 1:1ff. to call attention to the meaning of I John 2:15-17. In the first place we do so because we feel that a little diversion of subject matter might be welcome to the reader; we might be mistaken in this matter of desired diversion with every reader; however, on general principles I believe that we are right.

That our calling, in this present evil world is a very serious one, we have pointed out in our first arti­cle on this passage.

The reader will, no doubt, bear with us, that in this issue no article appears from our hand under the heading “From Holy Writ”. The reason?

Once more we return to our exposition of the first epistle of Peter. In doing so it is important to bear in mind, that in these verses of the first chapter of Peter our attention is called to our new and exalted status quo before God, our new relationship to God by virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have passed from death unto life in Him; a tran­sition has taken place whereby we have been taken, from the power of darkness and set in the Kingdom of God’s Son in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the next two articles we wish to give our atten­tion to an exposition of the verses 10-12 of this first Chapter of I Peter.